Lidless Window
by Materia-Blade
Summary: An AU fic. The soul is an extreamly powerful thing. At the valley of Jusenkyo Ranma's soul was tampered with... the result destroyed Jusenkyo and everything in it... including Genma Saotome. Now Ranma is cursed to never be happy again... or is she?
1. Prologe

It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. But no one expected something like this.   
  
What if that window were opened? If someones soul was let out?   
  
Similar things have happened before, correct? People switching bodies for a few days is a switch in souls. But... what if the soul was let free of is cage... Of the eyes?   
  
The soul is a very powerful thing. Just one soul could destroy thousands if tampered with. When it is tampered with in the wrong way the person's entire life can be destroyed in an instant... When something like this happens, the exposed soul shuts itself back into the eyes.  
  
The window is shut completly. After evil experiences, one will not allow the window to be seen through anymore.   
  
The eyes are truly far more than they seem. Those who are blind, don't truly lose there eyes, but just an ability of them. A person can live, if both eyes are taken from them... but there soul... will forever be closed.  
  
Without eyes a person cannot love... not truly. It isn't there fault... but one must see what one loves. Hearing it, Feeling it, Smelling it, Tasting it. All of them come in second to using the eyes to show the soul what one loves.   
  
A man called Genma Saotome, tampered with a soul once. It was the soul of his son, Ranma. It was at a place called Jusenkyo. Honestly, the tampering could be blamed on the place instead of Genma. Genma was just an idiot. An idiot who died for his meddling.   
  
Both Genma and his son were given curses. Ranma went insane on a mad rage to kill his father.   
  
While he was chasing him he accidentally stepped on the face of a man named Ryoga Hibiki. In some timelines, he didn't notice this... he just went on following his father. But in this one he sent Ryoga carreening over the edge of the cliff down into the valley of Jusenkyo.   
  
Instantly snapping from his rage Ranma's thoughts were something like... Damn it! I can't let someone else get cursed because of me!!!  
  
Ranma dived off the cliff for the man leaving a confused Genma Saotome, A.K.A. Panda, behind wondering why his son has stopped chasing him.  
  
"DAMNIT! RANMA THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!" Ranma heard the other man falling with him cry out.  
  
Ranma was forced to ignore the fact that this was his name.  
  
"You CAN'T fall in the springs!!!" Ranma shouted toward Ryoga.  
  
"What? Who're you?" Ryoga said with a stupid look on his face.  
  
Ranma looked down and saw the ground rushing up toward her... This man was going to be cursed and it would be all his fault.  
  
Ranma pointed his female body so that it fell faster than the man. Once he was even with the Ryoga, Ryoga asked again, "Who are you?"   
  
"Just a guy," Ranma answered.  
  
Suddenly Ryoga found himself flying toward the east after Ranma kicked him... or maybe north.   
  
The guide had been watching what the customer had done and was shouting at the top of his lungs.  
  
"NO HONORABLE CUSTOMER! YOU FALL IN SPRING AGAIN YOU NO CHANGE BACK TO NORMAL SELF!!!!"  
  
"I can change back? Oh damn!" Ranma thought as the ground rushed up toward him.  
  
He was falling directly for a spring. His only chance was to make himself fall a little to the left to land on the pole.   
  
He flattened himself out to where he would fall slower... But his female body, being smaller, didnt' slow him down enough.   
  
"If I land in that spring then I cant turn back into a guy! But I can't move!" Ranma thought. The spring came closer and closer he flailed his arms trying to get his body to move to the left. When it was no more that a hundred feet he snapped. "OH SCREW THIS!" Ranma thought.  
  
A blue light suddenly enfolded him and drifted him to the left as his decent speed lessened.  
  
He landed on the pole.  
  
"Whew... Ok so how do I change ba-"  
  
The bamboo pole snapped in half.  
  
Ranma fell into the spring.  
  
Suddenly a huge explosion of white light engulfed the entire valley. Jusenkyo was utterly destroyed.  
  
A mile long crater was left in it's place. The Amazons watched in amazement at the gigantic explosion that destroyed their punishment grounds. The Musk were horrified at the loss of their breeding ground. And the people of Pheonix Mountain swore revenge on those who would destroy the sacred water that allowed their lord to transform.  
  
The Jusenkyo guide was no more than dust. A panda bear named Genma, lay dead as well from the exaustion of keeping up a ki shield. Right on the outskirts of the crater Hibiki Ryoga made his way toward the super power that had decimated the cursed grounds.  
  
And, near the middle of the crater, a redheaded girl screamed. Not for herself that she was cursed... no. It was for the dead panda bear.  
  
She screamed. Forever it seemed like. The scream made blood run cold. All three of the tribes surrounding the valley heard it. Only the leaders of them showed no emotion.  
  
The rest showed fear. Someone was in pain and was making it very clear.  
  
Ryoga had finally reached Ranma who had also finally stopped screaming.   
  
"Wha... What are you?" Ryoga asked.  
  
"I... couldn't have done this... It couldn't have been me... I've never been able to even make an explosion... let alone destroy an entire valley. Ranma said calmly. He... or now she, looked at Ryoga.   
  
When Ryoga saw the redhead's eyes he felt immense pain. He cluched his forhead but bore the pain, just like he did with most headaches. It was far more than a head ache. It was like something was peircing his head with a dagger. Ranma's, once blue, now white eyes cut through the mind. He saw visions of the things that terrified him... as a child... and now. Being alone. Being lost. He saw things that had happened to him in dreams and in his past.  
  
"Hey! Are you ok!? What happened?!" Ranma asked.   
  
"I don't know. Who are you?" Ryoga asked as the pain subsided and he stood. He avoided looking at her eyes.  
  
"My... my name is Ranma Saotome..." Ranma said. "I used to be a guy... but this place cursed me into this... and apparently I can't change back... The guide said I wouldn't be able to if I fell in the spring again... but he didn't say anything about this..."   
  
Ranma looked at her hands... Suddenly they flare with amazing white light. Ranma manipulated the massive supply of energy that couldn't possibly be her own.  
  
"I... killed my own pop... Never kill... Never kill! That's what he always told me! That was the only thing he told me that was over honor... And I broke it!!!!" Ranma cried as fell to her knees and began to furiosly pound at the ground.  
  
"Your... your Ranma Saotome! From my Jr. High School! Your the one who backed out on the fight!!" Ryoga said.  
  
"... I dunno..." Ranma said.  
  
"THAT WAS A MAN TO MAN FIGHT OF HONOR! WHY DIDN'T YOU COME!?" Ryoga shouted.  
  
"...hmph.. honor... I don't have that anymore. I won't fight... never again..... NEVER AGAIN!"  
  
Ranma's body burst into a mix of black and white flame. She used her energy to create a massive pilar of energy and blast it into the air. It was enormous. Residence of Hong Kong could make out the thin line of light in the sky. It was a great swirling twister of black and white energy...  
  
Slowly the great blast of energy faded... Ryoga was entranced by the sheer power being emited.   
  
When the blast finally finished Ranma slumped to her knees and said "Never again."   
  
She then fell unconsious.  
  
*****************************  
  
Three days later Ranma woke. She was moving... she was being carried by someone. But who would carry her? Her pop!? No way! He would neve... He's dead... I killed... him.  
  
"Your awake! Can you run!?" Ryoga asked the girl in his arms.  
  
"What are you talking about? Where are you taking me?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Trying to save your butt from them!!" Ryoga said and motioned with his eyes back to the various people who were following him. It was about then Ranma realized they were moving at speeds close to ninety miles an hour through tree tops.  
  
"Who're they?" Ranma asked. Her voice was calm and sad. Somewhat cold shoulderish if such a word existed. "What do they want?"  
  
"Revenge from you destroying Jusenkyo." Ryoga said.  
  
"Why are you helping me?" Ranma asked.  
  
"You saved me from whatever Jusenkyo would have done to me. Just payback for the debt." Ryoga said.  
  
"Hmph, put me down." Ranma said.  
  
Ryoga did as and jumped to the ground.  
  
Ranma stood and walked toward the advancing groups... Apparently they were also all fighting each other but had a mutual agreement to destroy her. Damn the luck.  
  
"SO YOU'VE FINALLY DECIDED TO STOP RUNNING! GOOD NOW PREPARE TO DIE!!!!" Shouted a female in mandarin who was close to the front of one of the groups.  
  
Ranma knew a little of the mandarion language... mainly the phrase "prepare to die". She knew that one in every language.  
  
Kill me then.  
  
She said loud enough for all of them to hear.  
  
They stopped.  
  
"Huh? You? you want us to kill you?" A man shouted from the group on the far right.  
  
"I have nothing to live for. I have done the worst possible thing I could do for absolutly no reason. And there is no one who even knows of my existance anymore. So kill me. I deserve it." Ranma said defeated.  
  
"I'll gladly oblige," Said a well dressed looking man with white hair. She threw what appeared to be a spear at Ranma's head. It would have struck had Ryoga not intervened.  
  
Ryoga picked Ranma up and began to run again.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ranma shouted.  
  
"I can't just let someone get themselves killed. Even if they want to!" Ryoga shouted back and then dodged and oncoming fireball. (Saffron)  
  
"But what will I do? It was alway's just me and pop! There is no one else! NO ONE!" Ranma cried.  
  
"Your saying you don't have a mother?" Ryoga returned.  
  
"A... A mother?" Ranma repeated.  
  
"Yeah! You know a little older than you, brought you out of her stomach, that sort of thing?" Ryoga joked. At probably the most inopportune time.  
  
Suddenly a ki blast hit Ryoga directly in the back and knocked him over. He landed under Ranma as the flipped in air and Ryoga took the brunt of the landing on his back while Ranma was in his hands.  
  
Ranma stood.  
  
"Both of you will die! But the "male" goes first!" A girl cried.  
  
Suddenly about three ki blast's exploded from each group heading directly for Ryoga.   
  
"NO!" Ranma shouted. The white light circled her again. She placed herself in front of the ki blasts and all of them deflected off her to fly into nearby trees and brush.  
  
Ranma looked directly into the eyes of the person who fired the strongest ki blast. However she didnt' expect the result. Her intended result was intimidation. What she got was him to keel over cluching his forhead as the evil skeletons in his closet came to haunt him.   
  
"Me... the prince of the musk... lord Herb. Crouching in fear like some coward! DAMNIT!" Herb thought. He suppressed the memories and the pain and stood much like Ryoga had.  
  
"She is... she is evil! A demon. She m..must be destroyed!" He said through staggered breathing. Almost all the people of the musk were taken aback. They had never seen Herb even fall look like he was hurt before.  
  
"You won't touch him... He saved my life. You won't kill him." Ranma stated.   
  
Ryoga sat up.  
  
"Maybe... maybe there is something to live for Ryoga... I'll find my mother and then my cure... I will regain my honor... and my fathers respect from the dead." Ranma said.   
  
And then all hell broke loose.  
  
(Hope you enjoy it. And yes this will be a dark fic throughout the story. My first one I think. I have a lot of ideas in mind and this was one) 


	2. Chapter One

To anyone thinking that Ryoga wouldn't be able to escape from all three tribes, remember that Ryoga spent his entire life running towards an unfindable place and training his body to take whatever was thrown at it. His endurance and strength are what keeps him going. To anyone thinking that the three tribes would not attack for the destruction of Jusenkyo, let me just mention that this is an AU fic. Also as far as people being blind not loving and stuff. I didn't say people who were blind. I said people who had no eyes. And when I get a person who has no eyes complaining I'll take this fic off the net immediatly. (Please don't go hunting for someone without eyes. I kinda like this story.)  
  
And now on with the show.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
**********************  
  
April is in my mistress face.  
  
And June, beneath her eyes hath place.  
  
And in her busom, is September.  
  
But in her heart, a cold December.  
  
**********************  
  
Blasts of Ki came at her from all directions. Bonbori, Staffs, knives, swords, fireballs, ki-blasts, spiked-balls connected to chains, and a huge assortment of other things flew at her and Ryoga from all directions.   
  
Ranma erected her ki shield... she forced herself not to fight back. Forced herself not to stoop to their level. Forced herself not to return the favor and attack them. She would never fight. Never again would she fight.   
  
Her barrier of transparent white and black light was sufficiant. Her power was enourmous. And she hated it. It wasn't hers. She didn't EARN it. She wanted it to be gone. She wanted to fight with her OWN strength. But she had no choice. Her barrier defended her and Ryoga as they stood and slowly walked along away from the attackers.   
  
Ranma couldn't run and hold up the barrier at the same time, however. So she was forced to walk slowly away. Of course the three tribes caught up to her. Her barrier began to wear down.   
  
Ryoga had no idea what to do except for following the girls circle. They were bubbled inside a circle of light that pulsated everytime one of the more powerfull ki-blasts or fireballs hit it.   
  
Ranma felt herself running low on her imense reserves of power after almost twenty minutes. She knew she would never get away... even with her immense power, she stood no chance against these extreamly powerful martial artists, gods, kings and whatever else there was that was fighting her.   
  
Ranma let her ki off defending herself and kept it only on Ryoga.  
  
"RUN!!!" She cried.   
  
"And let you die!? No way!" Ryoga returned.   
  
She dodged as best she could while keeping the barrier up.   
  
A scimitar slashed her arm and retracted it from the meditative stance it was in. The barrier around Ryoga faded. A dagger skided past Ranma's left stomach and cut into her making her slouch to the ground. She felt herself begin to lose conciousness.  
  
Two more blades criss-crossed her back leaving an enourmous X across it, written in her non-present skin. She screamed.  
  
But suddenly something happened.   
  
A blade ran through one of the amazons stomachs. The girl was only about 17. She fell to the floor... not moving.   
  
"...My... my daughter... Said an old woman as she crouched near the unmoving form of the girl. All of the tribes had stopped looking at Ranma... who was writhing in pain on the ground...  
  
"You... you killed my daughter... fo...forget... forget the girl. THE MUSK ARE OUR ENEMY!" The amazon cried.  
  
And all of the fire was redirected as the three way war began.  
  
No one noticed the pain filled scream of a battle scarred redheaded girl being drug away by a slighly less scared but still extreamly wounded, boy.  
  
******************************  
  
Both of them lie in the tent. One awake and one finally asleep after Ryoga used a anesthetic and a few sleeping pills.   
  
He examined Ranma's back. It was downright scary. Little skin was left where the X had been cut and the blood flow from it was increadible. A little bone was visible as well. Fortunantly, none of the bones were broken... it's just that having ones skin ripped from ones back down to the bone hurts like hell. Ryoga had dressed her wound and wrapped it in a special cloth that he only used in the most dangerous of situations. Ryoga suspected the cloth was of a magical quality since he had only ever had one roll for the past three years and it had never run out, but he had never questioned this. He used a little of it on his own wounds and then lay down next to Ranma.   
  
It was nighttime. Ranma lay on the right of the tent, lying on her stomach. Had she laid on her back, she would have been instantly awakened. It had taken her hours to forget the pain in her back and still a few more to fall asleep on her stomach while being a girl.   
  
Ryoga lay on the left. He stayed awake however. He thanked his lucky stars he was still alive. And... now he could no longer blame Ranma... for anything. He owed Ranma his life... but when he thought about that more, he realized that he had also save her life.   
  
Ryoga no longer knew what to do. Ranma had still risked everything to get him out alive so his claim on Ranma having sent him to hell was nullified. What would he do now?  
  
"Help Ranma..." He thought.  
  
Suddenly he felt something that he seriosly hoped he wouldn't feel. The urge to use the bathroom. While this may be just another thing to most, to Ryoga it was horrible. Especially when someones life was on the line. He walked out of the tent and hoped to make it back within an hour. He went to a nearby tree, and then walked back to the tent. In all of about a minute...  
  
"Hey... I... I didn't get lost!!!" He cried. "It'a a miracle!"   
  
Ryoga had no Idea how to explain it. He saw the stream he had decided to set up camp near. He walked to it. And then he walked back. WITHOUT GETTING LOST!  
  
"Twice... twice in a row!" Ryoga said aloud, tears leaking from his eyes.  
  
He got out a map. The map, which had been so increadibly confusing three days ago, was now perfectly clear. Ryoga hadn't used a map or any sence of trying to find anything for the past three days and had simply been running.  
  
Ryoga didnt' know how it happened. But he no longer had his curse. He was free... free at last of that wreched curse. And he didn't know how, or why... but he thanked Ranma.  
  
He had finally gotten what he wanted.  
  
*******************************  
  
Prince Herb found that he had gotten exactly what he had wanted.  
  
His forces had defeated both the Pheonix tribe and the Amazons. WITHOUT A SINGLE CAUSUALTY!  
  
All of the amazon party and all of the Pheonix were dead, save for a baby version of the pheonix god.  
  
"This... this isn't possible. I know we have had good luck in the past... but to completely defeat the Amazon's when three of their matriarchs were present with no casualties on it's own was amazing enough. But there were also the Pheonix people here! And they were DEFINANTLY not to be underestimated. But against all odds they had come out with a "Flawless Victory"  
  
And it scared them.  
  
They, uneasily, claimed their victory over the defeat of the amazons. Granted it wasn't an all out war, and they were just a few hunting parties for the person who destoyed the cursed grounds that were fighting.   
  
However, THREE matriarchs... And Herb would rather fight with a demon than fight even ONE. There clever tricks and schemes to keep them going made no one want to tangle with them out in the open.   
  
The second Herb realized the Amazons were attacking his own instead of the girl, he retreated. But his men wouldn't do so. They threw weapons and ki... and almost every throw was a direct kill. The pheonix were much less dificult. Cool chi killed them quickly.   
  
It had taken a long time for Herb and his men to defeat Saffron, however. Almost every one of them had horrible burn marks. But the imperfect little child Saffron was kept him on the defensive. It was his body-gaurd Kiima who was actually the nuciance in defeating them. She protected that damn child with her life. She paid it too.   
  
Herb laughed and then decided there was only one thing left to do.  
  
Hunt the Girl.   
  
But he couldn't do that on his own. He realized that the girl was holding back. Had she used even minimal power to fight them, it was quite possible that they would have died. But... she didn't. Her efforts went into making a wall meaning that it was possible that she couldn't or didn't fight.   
  
Herb decided he could use this to his advantage.  
  
******************************  
  
Ranma awoke. She felt a little pain in her back... as long as she didnt' move. It hurt like hell to do that. So there she was, at the mercy of her apparent child hood friend. However, it seemed that he had held a serious grudge. And Ranma, who was almost inable to move because of the pain, wouldn't be able to defend herself with anything but a barrier which would wear down sooner or later. However, Ranma didn't plan on what was happening to her.   
  
Ranma was covered in a blanket. Her upper gi had ripped off when the blades cut into her back. Ranma found the blanket comfortable on her back. Bandages were wrapped around the dips in her skin on her back. If one pressed the bandages he would feel a dip in her back which was down right freaky. However, what she now finally began to notice was that she was a SHE. Her... her breasts were pressing into the plastic bottom of the tent. While she hated being a girl... she didn't care much about pain anymore. Her threshold for it had increased as of late. However, she was shocked at what she saw when she reached and pulled a mirror out of her backpack.   
  
Minus all the scrachmarks on her face from being limply dragged through the brush by a crippled Ryoga, she was beautiful. Fiery red hair, good looking face, gigantic... well..., and also coupled with the fact that she knew she was almost a foot shorter made her quite sure she would be noticed in a crowd.  
  
A thought came to her. "I'm the best looking girl I've ever seen and I'm a guy."  
  
Ranma tried to smile at her own joke. She only made it for a pathetic way of keeping her from thinking that she was a girl... and had destoyed the only possible cure she knew of. Also as a way to keep her from thinking about her dead... dead panda. And the guide. But she couldn't... her muscles had... forgotten how to. Her brain wouldn't let her mouth move up... It wasn't that she was too weak to do it. But her brain simply wasn't able to make her muscles move.   
  
She lay there on her stomach listening to the snores of her savior from the battle field. It wasn't as if she wouldn't run if he decided to attack her. She would suck up the pain and head for the hills if forced to. Ranma, of course, believed what her father had told her about never backing down. Never losing. However, in a situation like this, he decided it would be appropriate.   
  
Ryoga's eyes fluttered open. "UGH... anyone get the licene on that yacht?" Then he came to his senses. "Oh! Ranma. Hey are you ok?" He said getting to one knee beside her.  
  
"I'm... I'll be allright." She replied and turned her face away from his concerned eyes..  
  
"Can.. can you walk?" He asked.  
  
"...Yes..." She answered in a way that indicated she couldn't.  
  
"Can you even move?" He asked afraid of what her reaction would be.  
  
"...Yes..." She replied in the same manner.  
  
"So you cant do either?!" He cried.  
  
Ranma said nothing.  
  
She was trying to hold back tears... tears at killing her father... the guide... at her own weakness. She could move. Nothing was broken! She would be fine! Until she moved.   
  
Ranma put her hands on the ground an d pushed up and started at the pain that rushed up her back. She fell back to the floor instantly... whimpering, and dying inside for every wince she made. She had learned to shrug off pain. That pain should be able to be washed away. But she couldn't do it. "This shouldn't hurt this much! It's only a little skin and a few blood vessels! Nothing... nothing was broken!"   
  
She knew nothing was broken... but the pain from her back was unbearable.  
  
"...You can have your revenge you know. Look what i've become. Some weak... pathetic... girl.. crying at a simple death. To weak to even move. I'm nothing. I can't even smile. If you want what your revenge for whatever you followed me for... you can have it. I... I couln't do anything about it anyway." Ranma said. She watched she shadow of an ant crawling on the outside of the tent. She wanted to smash it. But even a light flick of her arm would send the skin of her back streching outward and would hurt her like hell.  
  
"... Your debt to me is repaid Ranma Saotome. It's now me who owes you. And if you can't smile... i'll make it too where you can again... somehow." Ryoga said.   
  
Ranma almost sighed in relief but her limited ability to conduct facial features held her from doing anything not related to sadness, grief, or anger.  
  
"Ryoga... Ryoga Hibiki right? That's your name?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Yes." Ryoga replied.  
  
"Thank you."   
  
"Don't mention it." Ryoga said as he stood up.   
  
"You... you don't have anything else to wear, do you?" He asked.  
  
"No, my gi is all I used to wear. I wouldn't be able to wear that now. My... my... they would, well..." Ranma stuttered. Apparently she had lost the capacity to be embarrassed.  
  
Suddenly Ranma felt the white energy within her. The energy that had killed her father... the energy she had despised. It began to heal her back. She felt it as it quickly created the new skin. Ranma could feel it healing her. It burned her. She felt the white ki as it seeped through her very being, burning her injuries into place.  
  
"AAHAHAHAHAHHAH STOP! STOP IT!!!" She cried as the blanket was blown off her back and the X on her back lit with white light just as the mark on her abdomon as well. She wriggled on the floor, afraid to roll onto her back for fear of the pain, she leaned to lay on her right side and curl into a ball. A single tear drop finally fell from her right eye.  
  
And slowly the pain subsided... She stopped moving... stopped sweating, but began to breath heavily.  
  
"I... I can't even take a little bit of pain... how weak have I become?" Ranma asked to know on in particular. She vaguely noticed the uncomfortable feeling of her knees against her breasts and the unfamiliarly large amount of space within her gi, pants.   
  
Ryoga put the blanket on her.  
  
Her pain subsided completely. And she fell to sleep again, looking into Ryoga's eyes and said, "Thank you... again."  
  
Ryoga cringed under the hold of Ranma's eyes and held his head tightly. Once Ranma had fallen asleep, the pain stopped and left Ryoga with an annoying headache.   
  
"I wish I had some asprin." He said to no one in particular.  
  
He walked outside to use the bathroom again, happy that he once again didn't lose his way.  
  
He walked back into the ten and accidentally tripped over Ranma's bag. He fell down right beside her. He got up and began to curse the bag when he suddenly realized something. A bottle of asprin had rolled out of the bag.  
  
"...God is smiling on me..." He thought. 


	3. Chapter Two

I'm dissapointed in the low amount of reviews this fic has. To everyone who did review, THANKS! On with the show now!  
  
Within the sockets, the eyes of fire.  
  
Within the mind, the will to aspire.  
  
Within the body, nothing able to tire.   
  
But within the heart, naught but lonely desire.  
  
(P.S. All the poems except the first one in this fic are my creations. Feel free to use them!)  
  
She was back up on her feet when she next woke. Apparently her newfound ki gave her the ultimate healing ability. Of course it came with immense pain. What didn't for her now-a-days? But she knew that one day... one day... she would be herself again. She would become a man again. She would meet her mother and she would be the greatest martial artist of her time. It was her and her father's dream for her. And she would make it a reality. And it would be her own power. She would get rid of this god-like strength and build her own up the power she had attained by the freak accident. Somehow Someday.   
  
But until she lost this uncontrollable strength, she would not fight. Defend? Yes. Barracade? Yes. But Fight? No. She simply could not risk taking another life. There was no right in any person to take the life of another. Especially on accident.  
  
"Ryoga. What was your grudge against me?" Ranma asked suddenly.  
  
Ryoga had been walking in front of Ranma for about two hours since she had woken up. Nothing had been said. Ranma looked down most of the time and used her ki sensing to follow Ryoga.  
  
"I... you ran out on a man to man fight. I followed you so we could finish the fight. It was stupid but... there was another reason." Ryoga said, the last part being almost a whisper.  
  
"Oh," Ranma said. Ranma decided not to pry. Ten seconds of talking and she just... stopped wanting to talk.   
  
"It was because... you just left. The first person not to look at me and laugh at my disability..." Ryoga said.  
  
Ranma said nothing.  
  
"Ranma... are you allright?" Ryoga asked. "I know it's been a long time but... I just don't remember you being so bad off. I remember you always bouncing back from whatever happened to you. I know you can come back. Time lets all things pass.  
  
"Hah."   
  
Ryoga shivered at her anwser.  
  
"Ranma is Dead. Long Live Ranma." Ranma said.   
  
Ryoga could tell she was trying to make some sort of joke. Albeit creepy, it would have been almost interesting to a passerby, had not Ranma said it in such a morbid tone.  
  
"Ranma..."  
  
They passed through a village of the farther east side of China a few days later. Nothing had happened for the last three days. Just walking, running, or downright bolting, just to get closer to the edge of China. Ryoga usually led the way. After all, he knew how to read maps even better than Ranma did. Had Ranma's muscles remembered how to force her to show impressment she would have been amazed at how accurately Ryoga was able to determine how many miles from one place to another. A while ago they had entered a city. Ryoga had looked at a map and estimated the distance to the village they were now in. After exiting the city they had found a marker that read the approxamate distance to the village. Ryoga's guess had been perfect.  
  
After that Ryoga told Ranma that before he had met her again, couldn't even read a map.  
  
She fell to the ground. However a face fault with no expression wasn't... well... it wasn't all that much of a face fault. Much more like a trip.  
  
"Are... Are you ok?" Ryoga asked.  
  
"I'm fine," Ranma said standing up and dustinge herself off.  
  
"I'm just not used to this body." She said.  
  
The walked on for a few minutes. It was another two hours by foot to the next city at a walking pace. They had slowed down to just that. Neither of them felt like running.  
  
"He... hey... If you wanna spar... I'd be happy to help you get your balance back." Ryoga said.  
  
"I... don't know." Ranma hestiated.  
  
"I... I may... DAMNIT... I can't!" Ranma cried in a sudden display of emotion.  
  
"What's wrong!? What did I say?" Ryoga asked. He had been surprised by her sudden outburst. After all they had been traveling together for two days and nothing like this had occured.  
  
"I... I can't control it... Theres too much. I used to be normal... but now I have to watch it... every second. I can't spar, Ryoga. I'd lose my focus and It would... come out and I don't know what would happen to you." She told him.  
  
A tear dripped down her eye.  
  
"Hey! I saw the explosion at Jusenkyo! I know what your power is! I'm willing to risk it! Did you think I couldn't TELL you were controling it? Why do you think I asked!?" Ryoga cried suddenly angry. He took her thought that he would die as easily as her father had as an insult. Genma had been in a completely different body with no real clue as to how to manipulate that bodies ki. He however was not. And he would be able to take the heat if Ranma DID by chance lose her focus.  
  
"I can't do it Ryoga... I..-" But he interupted her.  
  
"The only way you'll learn to control it is to use it. The only way to use it is to spar and I'm probably in the range of the few people who could take it! Plus... I really want that last match." Ryoga said.  
  
"..."  
  
They walked for a while in silence.  
  
Ranma stopped.  
  
"Fifteen miles from any civilized place... and I'll spar ya." Ranma said. She tried her smirk but she just couldn't do it anymore.  
  
She ran. Quickly and without any real care as to where she were going. Ranma felt the wind on her face as she jumped. It was amazing. She bounded from a tree up to touch the clouds and back down again. She was very close to putting a tiny bit of life back into her eye. The only thing that could make her forget about her father's death, was her art. And this was it in it's purest form. Not fighting. Not creating barriers. No. Flying.   
  
Or at least... as close to flying as a human can get.  
  
The anything goes style of martial arts made people as close to flying as was phyically possible.   
  
And her new power expanded the anything goes style of martial arts to the clouds.   
  
Ranma's duel with Ryoga had turned out well. Not for the surrounding but Ranma had learned to control her power amazingly. It had been two days since then. Ranma found that Ryoga's endurance was something that could never be trifled with. The first time they had fought Ranma actually had lost control and let loose the huge wave dome of energy she contained. When she regained it she was scared to death Ryoga would be dead. He stood and laughed.   
  
"Is that all you've got Ranma!?" He had cried. He looked like shit but apparently he had been right about Genma. He was fine except for his almost complete nakedness. He'd have to get stronger clothes.  
  
They had been sparring for two days straight. Ranma controlled her body as well as had once controlled her male body. Her immense ki energy had sped up this proccess.  
  
And that was when it happened.  
  
Ryoga died.  
  
He suddenly began to convulse. Ranma had rushed him to the nearest city. She made it to the docters office and they told her that Ryoga would be just fine if they got some of whatever he had been on.   
  
He had undergone a small withdrawl syndrom of... of something. It was as if he had stopped something suddenly and couldn't live with the loss of whatever it had been. Unfortunantly they could find what it was. What could Ryoga possibly have been doing that he would feel withdrawl from?   
  
What originally was what seemed like the symptoms of a withdrawl from some drug, killed him.  
  
Ranma cried again. Almost three hours straight.   
  
The man who had saved her life and basicly kept her from taking her own only a week or so before.. now lay before him, dead.   
  
"Why is everyone I know dying!?" She thought.   
  
She began to fear people. If she met them some freak accident may kill them!   
  
Three weeks later she found her house in Japan.  
  
Three weeks later she found out that her mother had contracted cancer a week before and died.  
  
"What do I do now?" Ranma thought. "I know. I'll still do it. I seek a cure. And I will have it."   
  
Ranma's eyes now had a tint to them. They hinted at cold determination.   
  
Ranma had developed her most powerful technique.  
  
Lidless Window   
  
The Begining.  
  
Heaven was awake.   
  
It had finally happened!  
  
A mortal had FINALLY crossed the heavenly gates set upon them! FINALLY! A mortal had reached it's true potential!  
  
...  
  
Too bad she was in... such bad shape. The cost was to great.  
  
The mini god's and goddesses felt sorry for the man who had been... changed. Everything she had ever held dear was dead. They knew Kami had told them it was neccisary... but... she had nothing left!   
  
And now It would begin.  
  
The End... Is Only the Begining of another End.  
  
Ranma had much to do... If the world was to avoid it's destruction.  
  
Ranma spent two years in China. She trained. Seeking into her ki and meditating for peace she found something. She found that the ki, was her own. She found that there was a lock. An almost unbreakable lock that seemed only breakable at the fleeting moment when one lost everything they loved.  
  
She searched for a cure but found none.   
  
The Musk, allied with the Amazon's, hunted her.  
  
She found that since there had been no Amazon survivors, the Musk had tricked the Amazon's into believing that Ranma had killed the Matriarchs that had died.   
  
At the end of her two years she found herself at the place it all started.  
  
Jusenkyo Valley. Wait... Jusenkyo crater.  
  
But neither of these name fit it anymore. No. It had become Jusenkyo Lake. And the spring that dominated it. Was spring of drown girl.   
  
"Figures." Ranma thought.  
  
Ranma turned and left Jusenkyo. Bound for Japan.   
  
It's time.  
  
The Lidless Window is what she named it? It fits. She can't turn it off very well can she?  
  
A figure burst out laughing an almost murdurous gwafaa.  
  



End file.
